first taste of the beauty business.

"When I first took over Eden,'' Mrs. Nearon said, "they had a reputation as being a good salon, so therefore it was just adding on to what they had already started. They had the concept in mind, but they didn't have the facilities at the time when I took over, so it was just basically enhancing what they had started with.'' That early beginning five years ago was the start of something great -- for Eden has taken off, and become even more of a force to be reckoned with in Bermuda.

"What we did after a year,'' Mrs. Nearon says, "was to go in and completely gut the whole salon, and have it remodelled. We did this to bring it up to date and to bring it in line with the time. Everything changes, and of course to keep a business going, one should always try to improve whether it be facilities, the handling of your clients, whatever it is out there that you can offer the people -- just keeping up-to-date.'' Handling two salons would appear to be a daunting task for the most organised of managers. But it wasn't anything the Nearons couldn't handle. In fact, Mrs.

Nearon believes jumping into it with an open mind was the reason for her success.

"I had some background in it (the beauty business) because I had Figurehead,'' she says. "I had been doing it almost three years when I took over Eden. It's been a learning process from the very beginning. Even up to now I am still learning about the business.'' However, getting into the business was probably brought on by what Mrs. Nearon saw as a deficiency in the customer relations skills of her favourite salon.

"I was a regular client every Friday morning without fail, unless I was sick or abroad,'' she said. "After a while people take you for granted. And I felt they thought `Well we know she comes in every Friday morning -- no big deal,' so when you came in, it was `sit down, get your hair done, and get back up.' They started to lose that contact (which is so vital to maintaining a successful business). They forgot that I was a client. And looking around at the other salons, a similar thing was beginning to happen, so I thought that I would like to get into the business and be able to offer people that personal touch.'' The Nearons believe the customer is the most important component in their business.

"They're always important -- every single client. It's not just who you are.

You're coming in, and you want to be uplifted. Every woman that's coming in here is not just coming in here to get her hair done.'' Mrs. Nearon strongly believes that a treatment at her salon leaves the client feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

"Once you get your hair done, you are a totally new person. Any beauty treatment you have makes you feel you are a new person,'' she states. "I wanted to be able to offer that service to each and every individual, whether they be male or female. The only full-service salons at that time were Strands and Bersalon. There were no other full-service salons and I thought that that was lacking.

"Also, I didn't feel that a lot of people, black women in particular, were aware of the services that can be given at a reasonable rate.'' It must have paid off -- Eden had six staff four years ago and now has 20.

HERE TO HELP YOU -- Eden owner Valerie Nearon believes the client is of the utmost importance.